Minority AIDS Project (MAP) located at 5149 W. Jefferson Blvd is the first community-based HIV/AIDS organization established and managed by people of color in the United States. Archbishop Carl Bean and members of Unity Fellowship Church founded Minority AIDS Project in 1985.

MAP’s services and educational programs are community-wide and available to all people. However, from the beginning, the primary focus of their services and outreach has been the African-American and Latino communities in Central and South Central Los Angeles. Until the doors opened at MAP, these communities had little or no real access to preventive education and essential health care services.

Archbishop Bean and a handful of volunteers began the work by providing a culturally competent continuum-of-care of AIDS-related services as well as providing the facts about HIV/AIDS to individuals and community groups who were interested. At the outset, the services met the needs of a caseload of 15 clients living with AIDS.

Today, MAP employs more than 44 full-time, part-time, and subcontracted bilingual staff. Staff work is enhanced by the supportive talents of over 100 volunteers to serve the needs of more than 1,200 clients living with HIV/AIDS per month. MAP also provides prevention services to over 12,000 individuals per year. The African-American community accounts for 75% of our client population, Latinos, 21%, and the remaining 4% are Anglos and Asians population.

MAP’s mission is “to Reduce Suffering and Deaths Due to HIV Infection and AIDS Disease in African American and Latino Communities by Making HIV/AIDS Education and Related Health Services Available and Accessible”.

From the office of the Executive Director Victor P. McKamie, M.P.A. Published in 2010:

2010 marked more than 25 years of Minority AIDS Project (MAP) service to our community. Over these two decades, the face of AIDS has changed dramatically. Today, black and Latino women as well as youth are the fastest growing HIV populations, making our commitment to serve the needs of those affected by the disease an even greater challenge. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast and dedicated in our mission and commitment “to reduce suffering and deaths due to HIV infection and AIDS disease in African American and Latino communities.”

To date we have served over 250,000 people who oftentimes have been left out of mainstream health and social services. We pledge to continue to work towards removing the psychosocial barriers for people of color when seeking HIV education and treatment services; to tackle the self-esteem challenges of our youth that keep them at risk for HIV; to develop innovative programs that are designed to reach hard-to-reach populations; to embrace our HIV positive brothers and sisters and to let them know that we still care and will remain in the fight to ensure that they have access to a comprehensive continuum of care.

We believe that MAP must continue to be a champion in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in providing services to those most in need by collaborating with health, mental health and social service organizations to provide a more comprehensive system of services.

Our experienced and talented staff, who go beyond their job description to ensure the well-being of their community, will continue to deliver the most innovative and culturally sensitive programs and workshops in the HIV arena. They will continue our mission, with non-judgmental discussions about “real life” situations, examined, and described from those living with HIV/AIDS. Our dynamic service providers are “gate-keepers” in the community and have made a conscious decision to give both love and respect back to the neighborhoods from which they emerged. They provide HIV awareness to communities otherwise overlooked by others, and are committed to complete the work, as they deliver the message that MAP cares about everyone.

MAP has undergone complete reorganization of programs, administration and financial systems to adapt to changes in the arena of HIV care, treatment and prevention. However, we cannot do this important work alone. We need your help to continue to challenge those in power to care about the faces of AIDS. We welcome your assistance to keep others informed of the dedicated work at MAP, and we encourage everyone to donate, to adopt one of our agency programs or services, and most importantly to get involved with MAP. We can defeat this disease and we can learn to care about our fellow human beings.

Join with us in our march to change the character and approach to serving those who need help the most. We will all benefit by understanding the motto MAP lives by every day; MAP serves our community “Because We Care”.

Victor P. McKamie, M.P.A.

Executive Director

5149 W. Jefferson blvd 90016

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Established in August of 2008 by writer, artist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.